He talked about this rift during the Dialogue on Right to Information, which was organized by the Chin Media Network, the Chin Civil Society Organization Network, and the Disability Development Initiative and held at HBA Hall in Hakha, Chin State on February 16.

“There is still a disagreement between the hluttaw and the government over legal affairs. Even though we are using the same constitution, there is still divergence due to different interpretations made by the hluttaw and the government. They believe we are overstepping the boundaries. We believe we are doing check and balance. We are carrying out the hluttaw’s work. There are some conflicts like this. Actually, we feel unsatisfied with the government,” said U Aung Than.

“For example, the municipal is using eight billion kyats but the MPs don’t know what they are doing in Hakha. They sent the budget proposal to the hluttaw a day before it is approved. The MPs aren’t given enough time to study them,” he explained.

“The municipal spends eight billion kyats. The electricity [department] spends ten billion kyats. The road department spends 16 billion kyats. The public has the right to information on these activities. Only then will the public know the status of its regional development,” he added.

MPs are given at least two months to study the budget proposals after they have been submitted to Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw.

“It’s true that [the proposals] were sent to the hluttaw at a short notice, but respective MPs have already agreed on these amendments before they were submitted to the hluttaw. We were submitting them to the hluttaw to make it official. Actually, the MPs have been involved since the time we made the proposals before making the changes. The right to information and the right to give permission have been given to them in advance," said Salai Isaac Khen, minister and spokesperson of the Chin State government.

“Even though [the proposals] were submitted at short notice, none of them have been submitted without the MPs’ knowledge. When the townships submitted them, they were submitted with consent from the MPs. So, there is no difficulty in submitting them to the hluttaw at short notice. One of the reasons why we have to submit them at short notice is because we have to submit them to the Union. In some sectors, the Union asks them on a very short notice. Some [proposals] can be submitted at least one week [in advance] in the state,” he continued.

Over 130 billion kyats is used for the development of the Chin State in the 2017-2018 fiscal year.